Since assuming the Turkish presidency, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Muslims discovered America and men and women aren’t equal. Erdogan’s latest salvo takes aim at what he sees as a treasonous threat to his country: birth control. Erdogan made his statements at a wedding on Sunday, advising the newly married couple to have at least three kids and blaming contraception supporters for keeping Turkey down, the New York Times reports. “For years they committed a treason of birth control in this country, seeking to dry up our bloodline,” he reportedly said in his speech. “Lineage is very important, both economically and spiritually.”

Erdogan is nothing if not consistent: Last month he told a women’s conference that Islam has “defined a position for women: motherhood.” He’s also backed abortion restrictions and called for women to have at least three (but preferably five) kids.

So the only fact relevant to the issue of birth control use in Turkey—the only one that needs to be considered by thinking readers—is that Erdogan is an Islamic nut job.

I have a pretty low view of Islam and am sure that Erdogan, as an Islamic propagandist, probably is worthy of being dismissed. But is there nothing else to say about why Erdogan would be concerned about birth control?

In 2030, the population of Turkey will reach 86.8 million, an increase of 16.2% from 2012. Turkey’s population will age rapidly in 2012-2030 which will be compounded by falling birth rates and fertility, however, it will still remain the youngest country in Western Europe in 2030. In 2012 Istanbul dominates the urban landscape and it is larger than the next six largest cities together, and this will still be the case in 2030.

You need to keep in mind, when you read the above quotation, that being “the youngest country in Western Europe,” besides being geographically twisted, is like saying they are the youngest of a group of octogenarians. Being “young” relative to Western Europe does not mean much because Western Europe is a demographic black hole.

So, other than that comparison, the news for Turkey is bad. You can’t have a vibrant growing economy if everyone is old and the young workers are expected to provide for the older ones.

I have no doubt that the media can find bizarre idiocies to publicize about most nations’ rulers. But it is a political decision on the part of the news stories to pretend there is nothing going on in Turkey’s birth rates that might have negative consequences that might be relevant to the President’s ravings about birth control.

Why hide the relevant truth? If you think that the equality between men and women is more important than the decline in population, why not just say so and give readers a sense of the trade-offs they are required to make one way or the other?

Unless of course the agenda here is to keep the populace ignorant so that as few people as possible are equipped to make an informed decision.